In modern vehicle environments, a structural member called a cross car beam typically extends between the vehicle door pillars. The cross car beam provides rigidity against a lateral impact to either side of the vehicle. Typically, cross beams have been formed of metal. More recently, it has been proposed to utilize plastic materials to form the cross beams.
Cross car beams are designed to support instrument panel assemblies and interior components, such as heating ventilation or air conditioning (HVAC) systems, steering columns and the like. Additionally, air flow passages may be formed in cross car beams to direct air from the HVAC system to the outlet ducts formed in the instrument panel assembly to supply heated, cooled, or ambient air to the passenger compartment. One known prior art cross car member is formed of two plastic parts connected to define vehicle flow passages. The cross-sectional shape of the air flow passages through the cross beam changed along the length of the cross-beam. Thus, the cross car beam did not provide both sufficient structural support against lateral impacts and constant volume of air flow through the air flow passages of the cross car beam.
Another type of prior art cross car beam provides an injection molded cross car beam having a series of open channels formed in the beam to distribute air from the HVAC system to the outlet ducts in the instrument panel. The cross car beam is continuously joined to an interior surface of an instrument panel such that U-shaped duct channels in the cross car beam are generally aligned with outlet ducts formed in the instrument panel. This type of prior art cross car beam assembly does not provide a constant and efficient flow of air to the passenger compartment from the HVAC system.
A sealed duct structure is provided between the air flow passages in the cross car beam and the outlet ducts in the instrument panel assembly to ensure that a constant volume of air is received in the passenger compartment of a vehicle from the HVAC system. Prior art cross car beam and instrument panel assemblies typically required the use of a feeder tube extending from the outlet duct in the instrument panel to the outlet opening in the cross car beam to channel the air from the HVAC system. However, the feeder tube must be properly sealed between the cross car beam and the outlet ducts to ensure the constant volume flow of air to the passenger compartment.
One type of prior art feeder tube connection includes a feeder tube inserted through the outlet opening in the cross car beam which is the sealed to the inner surface of the air flow passage channel using a gasket or seal. However, this type of interface requires additional parts, labor and time during the assembly process. Another type of prior art feeder tube connection included a set of tabs or fingers molded into the feeder tube. The fingers are inserted through the outlet opening in the cross car beam and engage the inner surface of the air flow passage channel. However, creating the tabs or fingers in the feeder tube required additional labor time to cut each tab to interconnect with the outlet opening, which required an expensive an imprecise process of manufacturing.
It would be advantageous to provide a plastic cross car structural support beam assembly including a series of air flow passages of constant dimensions to provide air from the HVAC system to the outlet ducts in the instrument panel assembly. It would also be advantageous to provide a plastic cross car beam including an integrally formed snorkel or projection on the outer surface of the cross car beam at each outlet opening to provide an interface for the feeder tube extending from the outlet duct, ensuring efficient air flow and eliminating the need for gaskets or seals. Thus, it is the object of the present invention to provide a plastic cross beam which provides air flow passages through a cross-section which provides sufficient lateral impact support and includes an integrally formed snorkel projection to interface with the feeder tube of the outlet ducts of the instrument panel assembly.